Rightful Place
by Baked Soap
Summary: Vongola Decimo was dead. The Millefiore now had the title of World's Strongest Mafia. In the midst of grief and world domination, a new enemy has appeared and the wheels have started turning. Meanwhile... "G, why is there a coffin in the living room?" Warning: 1827 and slight All27
1. Chapter 1

Yes, I know. I've been gone for a really long time and have not been updating my stories like I'm supposed to. Sue me for starting another story I might or might not update for another year. I have my own reasons for not updating but I'm pretty sure they'll all just be excuses to you. Anyways, let's get on with this story. This idea has been bothering me for a really long time!

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><p><em>The skies were darkening at an alarming rate. Gray clouds blocked any possible sunlight from peaking out and heavy rain poured, forming puddles on the ground. Even as the thunder roared throughout the sky, a lone man stood still in front of a headstone.<em>

_**R.I.P**_

_**Vongola Decimo:**_

_**Sawada Tsunayoshi (19XX-20XX)**_

_It was nice and simple, just how Tsunayoshi liked it. The man scoffed. Of course- Tsunayoshi did always belittle himself. He was also really selfless and put others before himself._

_But that was what he liked about the brunet._

_Suddenly, an umbrella was placed above the man's head. His eyes narrowed and his body tensed. Was he really that lost in his thoughts that he couldn't sense another person's presence?_

"_So this is where you are...Hibari" _

_Hibari knew this voice. He relaxed slightly, though he kept his eyes narrowed. _

"_Yamamoto Takeshi, what are you doing here?"_

"_What other reason is there to be here?" Yamamoto replied somberly, looking past the skylark and at the headstone._

_No other words were exchanged. Only the fall of the raindrops could be heard between them. _

"_Where are the others?"_

_Shock and surprise overcame Yamamoto. His eyes widened slightly. He never expected Hibari to start a conversation with him, especially at a moment like this._

_Getting rid of the shock, Yamamoto cleared his throat and said, "Nana is with Iemitsu right now. She's still a bit unstable but Iemitsu is trying his best to comfort her even though he's not in good shape himself. Ryohei and Bianchi are with the girls and the kids trying to cheer them up and I think it's working. They're starting to smile again. Gokudera has finally come out his room, but he does occasionally lock himself in his room and won't let anyone in. As for the others...I don't know where they are."_

_Several minutes passed with only the sound of the rain, until Yamamoto decided to break the silence._

"_H-Hibari," Yamamoto stuttered, feeling uncomfortable about what he was about to say,"I think you should move on."_

_The swordsman flinched as Hibari glared at him with an aura that could rival Reborn's._

"_What did you just say, herbivore?" the skylark said with unconcealed anger._

"_I'm not saying that you should forget about Tsuna, but we're all trying our best to move on, and you keep coming back here every single day."_

"_So are you saying that I should forget about Tsunayoshi just like that?" Hibari gritted his teeth, his voice slowly rising._

"_No, but Tsuna wouldn't want you to do this and..." Yamamoto clenched his hands "...it's not your fault-"_

_Before Yamamoto could finish his sentence, he felt his back hitting the hard pavement. His umbrella landed a few feet away from him and the swordsman could feel the cool water slowly seeping through his suit. As he was getting up, he felt the collar of his shirt being lifted and his brown eyes met a menacing pair of silver._

"_What do you know?" Hibari said through gritted teeth. "It was my duty to protect him and I was the closest to him and yet, I couldn't protect him." The last part was whispered but the close proximity between the two men left nothing to be heard._

_Scowling, Hibari left a stunned Yamamoto on the cold, wet ground once again. The rain guardian just lay there, staring into the monochromatic sky. With one of his arms covering his face, he let out a bitter laugh._

"_Haha, 'what do I know'? You'll be surprised..." Droplets of water collected and slid down his face. Whether it was tears or the rain, he didn't care. All he could feel was the cold, harsh wind against his skin and the empty feeling in his heart as if something was missing._

_Or rather someone._

"_It's not your fault; it's our fault. We couldn't protect him-" He slammed his fist onto the ground, "-I couldn't protect him."_

_The unforgiving rain continued pouring, reflecting the rain guardian's once tranquil heart._

* * *

><p>"P-please don't kill me! What do you want? Money? Fame? Women? You can have whatever you want; just don't-"<p>

A sickening crunch of bones resounded throughout the room.

Hibari snorted. As if he wanted any of those things. He was _the _Hibari Kyoya. He had fame and money. Women flocked to him wherever he went.

But none of those things can ever hope to replace _him._

The skylark took out his cellphone when it started to ring.

"Hello, Hibari Kyoya. How's the mission?"

"Mission completed."

"Good job. Return and report back to Bya-"

Hibari shut his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He loathed those Cervello women. He couldn't even stand to listen to them. They worked for Millefiore and that was enough reason to hate them.

But he wasn't much better.

After Tsuna died by Byakuran's hands, the position for Vongola Decimo was left empty. Byakuran would have taken over the position had it not have been the Vongola sky ring's refusal to accept Byakuran as the owner. Destroying it would only cause imbalance in the Tri-Ni-Set. In the end, the ring was taken into custody by Millefiore to never be seen again. The Guardians had refused at first. The ring belonged to Tsunayoshi and no one else. But with the threat of demolition of the Vongola Famiglia once and for all, there was nothing they could do.

Seeing Vongola at its lowest, many got scared and surrendered. Some rebelled but that didn't last long. The Vindice had kept quiet the whole time and nobody knew what they were up to now.

Hibari grunted as he stepped out into the bright sunlight shining upon his face, a huge contrast to the bloody mess inside the mansion.

A loud honk caught the cloud guardian's attention. He looked towards the source of the sound and found a raven haired man waving at him from inside a limo.

"Hey, Hibari!" the baseball player called out with a grin across his face.

"Baseball idiot, why did we stop?"

Hibari frowned. He really didn't feel like being with a bunch of herbivores, especially the dynamite one.

"Herbivores, what are you doing here?"

"Haha, we just came back from a mission, like you. I heard from Irie about your mission and thought we could go back together since you weren't far away from us."

"Tch, this baseball idiot just does whatever he wants," Gokudera hissed out.

"No," Hibari said, walking away from the limo.

"Ehh? Why not? You're going to have to report back to Byakuran-san anyways right?" Yamamoto said.

Gokudera and Hibari stiffened at the marshmallow lover's name. They always tried to avoid saying it since he was the reason why their Sky was missing. However, the baseball player didn't seem to mind it at all. It made Hibari irritated.

With a growl, Hibari strode to the opposite direction where the vehicle was and disappeared into the surrounding trees.

Yamamoto let out an audible sigh which caught Gokudera's attention. Gokudera just shook his head and ordered the driver to continue to their destination.

* * *

><p>Irie groaned as he clutched his stomach with his left hand while his right was clasped over a small radio that was transmitting loud rumbling noises.<p>

"Are you okay, Shoichi?" a voice on the other end inquired with a less than concerned tone.

"I-I'm okay...Spanner. I'm just nervous," Irie muttered under his breath.

"If you say so," answered Spanner dully.

"I just hope that everything goes according to the plan..."

"Don't worry. Do all you Japanese people worry over every little thing?"

"This 'thing' we're doing is not little at a- Ughh, my stomach..."

"Anyways, I'm almost at the Vongola Base- at most thirty minutes away."

"Okay, tell me when you have already finished delivering it. And be careful."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye."

Irie sighed as he raked a hand through his auburn colored hair. Despite managing to avoid Byakuran's suspicion and everything going as planned, he had a feeling something bad will happen soon.

He just hoped what _they_ worked so hard for went through without any trouble.

* * *

><p>Spanner piloted the helicopter towards the direction of his destination. He hoped the Vongola will not mistake him as an enemy and shoot him down. He and Irie didn't exactly tell the Vongola about the delivery they were making nor did they know what they had in mind. After all, only three people-including Irie and him- were present when they were making the arrangements.<p>

He had a feeling the Guardians would be hysterical after finding out what they were sending them though. Spanner suddenly felt like he was on a suicide mission. He glanced behind at a black coffin secured to the floor of the vehicle with a rope. The coffin had a gold outlining with the Vongola crest in the middle and a 'X' under it.

Yep, they were going to go bat-shit crazy on him, especially that Cloud Guardian.

Oh well, he'll just blame it on Irie. The blonde took out a spanner-shaped lollipop from his pocket. However, he didn't get to unwrap it when a beep from the helicopter's GPS caught his attention.

The engineer furrowed his eyebrows at the appearance of a small symbol in the shape of a flame on the screen.

_Why is it picking up readings of flames in the middle of the sky?_

Suddenly, the screen exploded and the arrows in the gauges started spinning uncontrollably like a fast-forwarded clock.

Panic spread throughout Spanner as the wing of the helicopter broke off for unknown reasons. The controls of the vehicle had long stopped working and smoke had started to erupt from the unstable transportation.

_What's going on? Why is it- _

Spanner abandoned his thoughts when he noticed something indigo outside.

_Mist flames? What are they doing here?!_

Small balls of mist flames launched themselves at the helicopter, hitting several parts.

_Shit, if it hits the fuel tank- _

He reacted on impulse. He grabbed his parachute and strapped it around his chest hurriedly. Without hesitation, he threw himself off the falling chopper.

Just as he fell, the helicopter exploded, sending debris down the blue sky. Spanner breathed a sigh of relief when he activated his parachute. It was going to take quite some time to get down too.

Irie's going to have a heart attack when he hears about this.

* * *

><p>"..."<p>

"Hello? Shoichi, you there?"

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Unfortunately, no."

Irie leaned against the wall of his office as he once again clutched his stomach.

"What do you mean it exploded?! What about the coffin- what happened to that?!" Irie shrieked towards the radio.

"I was under attack-"

"By who?!" Irie shouted, almost hyperventilating.

"Shoichi, calm down and breathe."

Irie knew he was panicking so he followed his friend's advice. It took a few minutes until he was breathing normally but his heart was still pounding and his stomach was doing flip-flops.

"O-okay, I'm good."

"Okay, so to answer your question, I don't know who attacked me. All I know is that it was a mist flame user. As for the coffin, it disappeared. I searched the perimeters of where the helicopter and I landed but not a trace of it was found."

"Co-could it have been-"

"No, there's no way. If it had exploded, there would be splinters and debris from the coffin...and there's no body to be found."

Irie frowned at their predicament. Spanner was under attack by someone unknown and it just so happened that _he_ was nowhere to be found. Then it must mean they were after the coffin the whole time. Irie squeezed his temples as he started to feel the frustration and failure. That was the most important part of the plan! Without _him_, the whole plan they've worked on was useless!

_Shoichi, think, think, **think-**_

"Irie-sama-"

"What?!" Irie yelled out in frustration. Looking at the slightly opened door, Irie registered a Cervello standing next to the door.

Despite Irie's shout, the Cervello seemed unfazed. Of course, all the Cervello seemed to never show any expression. Embarrassed, Irie scratched his head and said, "Sorry, what were you going to say?"

"Byakuran-sama wants to see you," the woman replied monotonously.

"Umm, okay, I'll be there soon. There's no need to escort me." The pink haired woman nodded and bowed. Within a few seconds, she was gone.

"Wow, I didn't know you could raise your voice like that."

The redhead looked at the radio in his hand and let out a loud groan.

"We'll figure things out later. For now, I'll just send someone to fetch you."

"Sure. See you later."

"See you."

Setting the radio down, Irie suddenly felt the urge to introduce his face to the desk, but he resisted. He had a boss to meet.

* * *

><p><em>Knock, knock.<em>

"Come in!"

Irie went in his boss's room. Sitting behind a desk was Byakuran, leader of the Millefiore. He was leaning against his seat, holding a back of marshmallows close to his chest. His eyes were closed and his mouth was always set to a constant smile. It reminded the redhead of a fox and it set him on edge.

Irie bowed and steadily asked, "Byakuran-sama, what is it that you need?"

"Ah, Sho-chan! I've already told you to drop the formalities!"

"No, Byakuran-sama is Byakuran-sama," Irie stubbornly refuted.

"Stingy! But that's just like Sho-chan to say that." The holder of the Mare Ring grabbed a handful of marshmallows and proceeded to stuff his face with it.

"Anyways, I called you here to see how you were doing."

"How I am doing?"

"Yeah because you seem to be quite busy nowadays. You're always doing something in your office and I've been seeing you around less and le- Ahh, you can't be doing something behind my back right?"

"Of course not, Byakuran-sama. I'm just busy taking care of paperwork and making sure everyone is following orders," Irie calmly responded, trying not to show his nervousness.

"You're as hardworking as always, Sho-chan! We need more people like you. It's a relief to know someone like you is my friend. If someone were to go against me, you'll get rid of them...right?" At this silence overtook the room. Irie gulped.

_Does he know? _

Even with his eyes closed, it almost seemed like the white haired man was staring right through him, as if he _knew._

"Of course, Byakuran-sama." If possible, Byakuran's smile widened.

"Good. That's all I wanted to know. You can go now." Irie gladly excused himself, leaving Byakuran to continue eating his sugary treat.

Once the door was closed, the Millefiore boss opened his eyes, showing his amethyst eyes. Turning to the window wall behind him, he watched the scene below him.

It was kind of fun to see Shoichi go behind his back. It was easy to see the telltale signs. He had a general idea of what Shoichi and his blonde friend was planning. The Millefiore leader narrowed his eyes- it won't be long before he puts a stop to whatever those two were planning. He was just this close to taking over and disrupting the monotony of the world. He can't let them go on anymore. It won't be long before he had to brand Shoichi and Spanner as traitors and get rid of them.

But first, he had a pesky rat to remove. It's been sneaking around the base for three days. It's about time it left. What's been bothering the white haired man was he didn't know what the infiltrator wanted.

He'll make sure to get his answers next time.

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><p>It was a great day. The skies were a deep blue and the sun was radiating brightly with a few clouds in the sky. A redhead stepped out of a huge mansion where he lived with several others. He had on a white collared button-up shirt and he wore black slacks with black shoes. The fiery red tattoo on the right side of his face accentuated the man's red hair and eyes.<p>

The man let himself loosen up and he quirked his lips upward. His boss has been doing his paperwork obediently so far without any complaints -read: death threats-and there has been only one fight between the members of the household. Usually, there would be more but the absence of certain members of the Familgia had made for a peaceful morning.

As he proceeded to go on with his daily routine, starting with a walk around the garden, he decided that there would be nothing that could ruin his day... That was until he tripped.

"Woah!" Before he could fall face flat on the ground, the redhead managed to land and escape with only two slightly scraped knees and a palm. Getting to a standing position and brushing off the dirt on his newly washed clothes, he looked -glared- around for the source of his almost face-plant.

The man faced the ground, expecting a raised ledge on the ground or maybe a guard who had fallen asleep while on watch duty but instead he found-

_A coffin?_

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><p>And there we go. I hope you liked it. I haven't been writing for a really long time so I think I might have fastened the pace of this story. Tell me if the pace was too fast or what you just read was confusing. And yes, I've noticed that the mood of the story keeps changing. Do you guys think I should fix that?<p>

I'll see you guys next time.


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my, I'm so happy that this story has received so much attention. Thanks for the reviews! Unfortunately, I don't have time to reply to all of them -and I don't want to give any spoilers- but do know I read all of them and I really appreciate them.

Oh, and I changed my PN. I don't even know why- I guess I just felt like it. Sorry if I caused some confusion.

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><p>"<em>Hayato, I want to ask you a question but you can't freak out, okay?"<em>

"_I will answer any question you ask, Juudaime," Gokudera responded while pouring a cup of coffee for his boss._

"_If I were to die, what would you do?"_

_Tsuna looked up from his paperwork when the sound of shattering porcelain reached his ears. "Umm, Hayato, the coffee-"_

_The storm guardian rushed over to his boss, slamming his hands on the paper-covered desk. "Juudaime! You're not going to do anything dangerous, are you?! As your right hand man I won't allow you to! In fact, there's no need to even think of such things because I would protect you even if it means sacrificing myse-"_

"_Hayato, what happened to not freaking out?" Tsuna interrupted Gokudera's rambling. _

_Noticing his slip in his calm demeanor that he had tried so hard to build over the years, Gokudera flushed in embarrassment and straightened his back. Clearing his throat, Gokudera said apologetically, "I'm sorry Juudaime- it's just the thought of you not here anymore..."_

"_It's okay, Hayato. It was an unexpected question and I guess it was foolish not to think you wouldn't react horribly to that. By the way, you still haven't answered the question." Tsuna looked over at his storm guardian who looked slightly troubled._

"_Don't worry. It's just a hypothetical question," the brunet reassured in order to not plant ideas in his right hand man's mind. Gokudera sighed in relief before he scrunched up his eyebrows in thought._

"_Well, Juudaime, I would definitely kill the bastard who dared lay a finger on you." Chuckling at the expected answer from his hot-headed friend, Tsuna stood up from his seat to stand next to Gokudera, leaning against his desk. Gokudera shifted his body to better face his Juudaime._

_Gokudera watched as his Juudaime's face held a contemplative expression as if he was trying to carefully word what he was going to say next. The silver haired man watched as his boss faced him, brown, caramel eyes meeting his own grey ones._

"_Hayato, I've been thinking... Hypothetically speaking, if I were to die, I want to leave the Vongola in your hands."_

_Mouth gaping and eyes wide in horror, Gokudera croaked out, "Wh-what are you saying, Juudaime?" Voice slowing rising, Gokudera yelled, "It's absolutely insane to leave something as precious and significant as the Vongola in my hands! You've spent years trying to revert the Vongola back to what it was originally created for. And there would be no need to; I can't imagine someone as strong and kind as Juudaime to-" _

"_Hayato, like I said- this is just hypothetical. But I guess hypothetical or not, I would still leave the Vongola to you if something were to happen to me. We are in the mafia after all; anything can happen."_

"_B-but, I don't think I have the ability to lead the Vongola and I hate to admit it but I have a lot of flaws- I get angry easily and act on my emotions. That baseball idiot can do that much better and I'm not strong like Hibari and-" Gokudera paused when he felt a light weight on his shoulder. _

"_Hayato, everyone has flaws. You get angry and act on your emotions, but that was in the past. You have improved more than you give credit for and other than the quarrels you have with the other guardians, you manage to control yourself in important situations. Yes, Takeshi may be better at self control but I'm afraid that he might hide behind that mask he has worked on for years. Also, you may not be as strong as Kyoya but strength is not everything when it comes to leading a famiglia. Plus,"_

_Tsuna smiled warmly, making the storm guardian's tense shoulders loosen, "I trust you, Hayato. We might not have started on good terms-" Tsuna grinned as Gokudera blushed in mortification. "-but you were my first friend. It meant a lot to know that no matter what happens you will be there for me. I do hope you will accept this selfish request. I believe that you will be able to take care of everyone if they were to stray off."_

_At the brunet's determined gaze Gokudera faltered in his refusal and silently accepted the proposal. The silver haired man kneeled down and said with resolve, "As Juudaime's right hand man, I accept your proposal and I promised to keep it even if it means death."_

_The storm guardian stood up as Tsuna sat in his seat behind the table. Comfortable silence followed as they knew they have reached an understanding and this moment would forever be etched into their being. Grey orbs watched as the brunet signed paper after paper before the silence was broken._

"_Oh, and Hayato, I think the coffee will stain the carpet if it's not cleaned immediately. You know what a pain it is remove coffee stains."_

_Eyes stricken with panic, the taller of the two stormed out of the room with a shout and a quick, "I'm so sorry, I'll quickly call a maid to clean this up!"_

_Laughter filled the room as Tsuna watched with amusement when a dust trail was left, courtesy of his first friend._

* * *

><p>"-yato! Hayato!"<p>

Gokudera blinked out of his trance and took note of his surroundings.

Ah, yes- they were back at the Vongola mansion after delivering their mission report to the Millefiore boss.

"Maybe you should go back to your room and rest. You're pretty out of it, Hayato."

Glancing at the swordsman to his left, he snorted."Hmph, I was just thinking. Aren't you the one that's tired? You've got bags under your eyes." Sure enough, under the rain guardian's eyes were two prominent bags and if it was any darker he'll probably be mistaken as a panda. The silver haired man narrowed his eyes. When was the last time the baseball idiot has taken a proper rest?

"Haha, I guess. I think I've been taking on too many missions lately." Yamamoto sheepishly scratched his head.

"Tch, you go rest, baseball idiot. I still got work to do and papers to sign," he muttered with a gentle undertone.

"I guess I'll just take a few z's. See ya later, Hayato." Yamamoto grinned brightly and headed towards his room.

_Too brightly._

Gokudera sighed. Juudaime was right; that idiot was trying a bit too hard to act normal. Honestly, with the time they've spent together for years, did he really think that _he _won't notice?

With a shake of his head, the storm guardian walked over to his own office with long strides, hurrying to finish his work in order to take long nap.

Sitting down in his chair, he looked over at the stacks of papers that littered his desk. He had kept his promise to Tsuna and that meant that most of the paperwork were given to him to sign. When Gokudera had taken a look at the workload and wondered why he accepted Tsuna's proposal in the first place, he had immediately went to commit seppuku and drown himself in bleach.

Well, he _would _ have if it were not for Yamamoto knocking him out before he managed to disembowel himself.

He couldn't even believe he would think that- regretting his promise to his Juudaime. Sometimes he would doubt and wonder if he could really go on without his Juudaime to guide him in times of need, but when he remembered his Juudaime's belief in him, he suddenly feel determined. Even if it meant countless of sleepless nights he would take care of what his Juudaime left him. He would not disappoint Tsuna.

Gokudera stretched when he felt his arm going numb from scribbling countless lines of useless gibberish to other mafia famiglias.

Maybe it was time to take a coffee break. He was going to need some caffeine if he didn't want to drop down and drool on the papers he had worked so hard to write.

Getting up from his seat, he headed to the kitchen. However, before he could reach the kitchen he was stopped by a maid.

"Ah, Gokudera-sama! How can I help you?" The woman beamed at him with a professional smile gracing her features.

"I just want to get a cup of coffee to get to stay awake."

"Oh! No worries, Gokudera-sama! Please, stay in your room while I go get it for you!" Bowing, the maid hurried off to the direction of the kitchen.

Going back to his room, the storm guardian decided to just continue his work before his coffee came. He took his seat and reached his hand to his pen but stopped when he noticed a red glow from his ring.

Brows scrunched up in confusion and with a downturn of his lips, he brought his hand closer to his face to inspect the ring. Suddenly, a small beam of red shot out his Vongola storm ring. At the end of the light, a figure was projected in front of his desk. The figure had red hair similar to Gokudera's own that resembled an octopus. He had a large red tattoo on the right side of his face.

"G, what-"

"This is not the first time I've 'magically' appeared so get used to it." Gokudera frowned when he remembered the times G had appeared in front of him. It was usually when something bad has happened. The last time G had showed up from his ring was when Tsuna had died and the Sky ring was left without an owner.

"So what are you doing here, bastard?" The tenth generation storm guardian stared at his ancestor with a pointed look.

"Look, I'm not here to deal with this attitude of yours and," G's lips turned downwards and he knitted his eyebrows, "I can't get in contact with Giotto."

"So..." Gokudera trailed off at G's glare.

"So?! The rest of us can't connect with Giotto and we can usually at least feel each other no matter how far apart we are with the flames in the rings. Now I can't even feel his presence within the ring. It was like our line of communication just broke- disappeared. And that's not all."

G raised his hand and pointed a finger towards his head.

"I can't recall anything from the past. Do you know what that means?"

Gokudera racked his brain for reasons why this could mean. Surely G can't just forget memories from his past out of the blue, can he? That means...

"Someone is interfering with the flow of time."

"Correct," G affirmed. "It just so happened that these two occurrences happened at approximately the same time."

"A-are you saying that the connection between Giotto disappearing and your missing memories are related?" Gokudera asked, bewildered.

"It's just a theory but there is a possibility."

During Gokudera's musings, knocks interrupted his thoughts.

"Gokudera-sama, you're coffee is ready!" came from the other side of the door.

"I got to go now. Lampo is being annoying and I've delivered all I can. C'ya." Just as G disappeared into his ring, his door opened, showing the maid from earlier with a tray holding a cup of hot coffee and a few snacks.

"Gokudera-sama, here you go. You've been working so hard I thought I would make you a few snacks to help in case you get hungry." Without waiting for a word of thanks, the maid strode to the front of the room.

"Call me if you need anything." With a bow, the woman left.

The storm guardian merely looked at this cup of steaming coffee before he groaned.

_Guess I won't be needing the coffee anymore._

* * *

><p>G stared at the coffin laying on the table in the middle of the living room. After ten minutes of deep thoughts, he had decided to drag the coffin in the mansion with the help of two guards. They had given him a weird look but G had reprimanded them with a glare that clearly meant to not say anything.<p>

The redhead scoffed. What were they thinking he was doing with a coffin anyways? It was not like he was a lowlife who would desecrate someone's dead body.

G pinched his temple. What the hell was he supposed to do with the coffin? It obviously wasn't just a normal coffin since it had the Vongola insignia on it. He had tried to open it earlier but it remained shut. On closer inspection, there was a lock on the side, keeping the coffin firmly shut. The idea of picking the lock was abandoned since there was no keyhole on it.

The first generation storm guardian sighed. Now what? Was he supposed to bury the coffin? He was certainly curious as to what was inside since it held the Vongola insignia but he didn't want to open a dead person's coffin. The design of the coffin also piqued his interest. What did the 'X' stand for?

"Hey, octopus-head! There was a rumor going around saying you killed- Oh my god, what is that?!" The redhead turned his head and growled. This was the person he least wanted to see right now.

"Oi, Lampo, quiet down! I'm trying to think." Lampo walked up to G with a horrified expression.

"G, I didn't know that the rumors would actually be true..."

"Rumors? What rumors?" G questioned, confused.

"I-I can't believe you actually killed someone... I knew you get angry easily and could probably kill someone because of that but I didn't know you would actually do it..."

"Brat, what are you talking about? Plus, if I were to actually kill someone, I wouldn't put him in a coffin!" G yelled out, not believing what Lampo was implying he thought he did.

"I thought you were a better person than this! I thought you had morals-"

"Lampo, listen-"

"Even though you were an idiot with an octopus for a head and I knew you needed anger management, you were a good person! How could you-"

"Lam-"

"Are you sure you're G? What happened to him? What did you do with G?!"

"Um... what is going on-?"

"SHUT UP!" G screamed. Silence filled the room and the only noise was the heavy breathing from the storm and lightning guardian who were trying to recover from their yelling match. G inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to calm down his nerves. As he was starting to explain to the lightning brat about the coffin, coughs resounded throughout the room.

"Ahem."

Both guardians looked at the doorway. G nearly groaned when he saw his vest-clad boss and friend standing with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Vongola! You wouldn't believe what G did! Look at this!" Lampo practically shrieked while pointing to the cause of this whole mess.

Giotto merely raised an eyebrow at the object laying on the low coffee table.

"G, why is there a coffin in the living room?"

"This octopus-head finally killed someone!" Lampo intercepted before G could say anything. G shot the younger teen a dark look that promised he would actually kill _someone_ if he didn't shut up.

"Primo, I can explain!"

"Well, please do," Giotto responded with an upturn of his lips, showing his amusement in his friend's predicament.

"I just found this outside the door of the mansion when I went out for a walk this morning. I didn't want to leave it there so I brought it in. That's all!" G huffed out.

At this point, The blond had approached the black casket on the low table. He bent down to the casket's level to inspect it further.

"Hmmm... It has the Vongola symbol on it. Why is that?" Vongola Primo muttered.

"That was what I was trying to figure out before this brat interrupted me," G hissed out while gesturing to the green haired teen with a thumb.

"Hey, I'm not a brat!" Lampo cried out indignantly.

Ignoring the arguing pair, Giotto focused on the lock keeping the coffin shut. He extended his arm to look at the lock closer but before he could, his sky ring glowed a beautiful orange.

_The ring... Why is it reacting?_

The blond gasped as the ring continued to grow brighter. He watched in shock as he watched his sky flames being absorbed into the lock. G and Lampo had long stopped their petty quarrel and had opted to watch as the lock absorbed the pure sky flames.

As the orange light dimmed, Giotto tried to stand up but he wobbled a bit. G hurriedly helped his friend to stand up straight before the three occupants looked at the coffin, wondering what had just happened.

"Are you alright, Primo?"

"Y-yeah... Just a bit tired. It took quite an amount of flames from me, you see."

They all heard the quiet click of the lock being opened. G and Giotto looked at the casket, wondering what or who was inside. Lampo strayed behind them, afraid of the content inside.

G pulled the lock out and looked at his blond friend for confirmation to proceed. When Giotto gave a small nod, G turned back to the black shape. Slowly, he tentatively lifted the lid of the coffin.

The three guardians all widened their eyes at the sight before them.

"V-Vongola?" Lampo stuttered.

"Y-yeah?"

"Why is there another you inside?" G finished.

Inside the coffin was a man who looked suspiciously a lot like Giotto. The only difference was that he had brown hair and had a smaller stature. The person in the coffin had a serene expression on his face and his arms were crossed across his chest. He wore a brown suit and white flowers surrounded his body, filling the empty space within the coffin.

"He may look like me, but that is definitely not me." Giotto replied.

"Is he dead?" Lampo asked.

"Of course he is, stupid! Why else would he-"

"No, he's still alive," Giotto interrupted. "Look, his chest is moving up and down, indicating he's still breathing and," Giotto bent down to place his finger on the sleeping man's neck, "he still has a pulse."

"What the hell! Then why is he in a freaking coffin? Who sleeps in coffin anyway?"

"Vampires," Lampo said helpfully.

"Shut up, perm-head! That was not helpful."

"I don't know... I guess we'll just have to ask him when he wakes up," Giotto whispered as he listened to another start of an argument between his storm and lightning guardian. The blond watched as the verbal fight between his two friends had started to get physical.

"What did you say about my hair?!" G shouted rhetorically as he grabbed a fistful of Lampo's shirt.

"I said it was pink- GAHH!"

Giotto sighed as Lampo had started to run around the room while sporting the new bump on his head while G was on his heels.

"Guys, sto-"

"Unghh..." Everyone stopped what they were doing as a moan met their ears. They all peered at the person inside the small space. They all noticed the honey brown eyes fluttering open and another moan following right after.

Gathering his wits together, Giotto who was closest to the brunet inquired, "Are you okay?"

The brunet squinted his eyes when they met with the bright chandeliers and quickly closed them again.

"H-head... hurts..." The man's voice was hoarse as if it hadn't been used in ages. When he tried to sit up, the man lay back down in the coffin, groaning yet again.

"Do you want some water?" No answer. They sharpened their hearing and they heard the brunet's breathing even out, indicating he was fast asleep.

"G, bring him to the guest room next to my own. He seems quite disoriented."

"But Primo, what if he's dangerous?"

"Don't worry. My hyper intuition is not acting up, meaning he's safe. Even if he was dangerous, I don't think he is in the condition to attack us."

G grunted at his friend's mention of his hyper intuition. G grabbed the brunet's arms, trying to heave him onto his shoulder.

"Gently," Giotto reprimanded.

"Yeah, yeah." G rolled his eyes as he changed the brunet's position in his arms.

"And Lampo, call the maids to get a meal ready and a clean change of clothes."

"R-right away, Vongola!" Lampo scurried off to tell grant Giotto's orders and maybe get a few snacks himself.

When the living room was empty, Giotto sat down on the coach and leaned his head back.

He was so tired. Tired from paperwork and what had just happened. Giotto narrowed his eyes. Why were his flames absorbed into the lock? Was the key to the lock his sky flames? If so, why?

Giotto closed his eyes as all sorts of questions plagued his mind. Maybe he should get some sleep too. When the brunet wakes up, he will be interrogated.

Giotto started to his room, leaving behind the coffin with the Vongola symbol on it. He'll just ask G to deal with it.

* * *

><p>Tell me if the pace is okay or if I need to correct something. I tried to make it longer but I just don't have the ability to do that. *Sigh<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Last updated: March 9** Hahahaha...hahaa...haaaa *Runs away

Late holiday present? D:

* * *

><p>"Wake up... Tsuna, wake up."<p>

The body stirred, caramel eyes slowly opening to peer into the darkness surrounding him.

_Where am I?_

The man slowly lifted himself into a sitting position. He looked around only to see pitch black stretching for miles.

"Tsuna-san."

The man startled at the sound. That voice... where was it coming from? He watched in fascination as a small, orange flame appeared right in front of him. The flame slowly got bigger and it flickered to form an image of a young girl who didn't look more than thirteen years old. The girl had a peculiar sense of fashion. She was wearing some sort of robe that reached to her ankle and a large hat somewhat resembling a mushroom. She had dark green hair styled in a bob cut with a few long strands in the back to form a tail and a small, orange flower tattooed right under her left eye.

The brunet scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Who was this young girl and more importantly, where the hell was he? Weird, he couldn't remember anything from his past...

"We're inside your dream world," the girl said.

Tsuna nearly shrieked. "You can read minds?!" Strange... He felt as if he'd said those exact same words before.

The green haired girl chuckled. "No, silly. It's just that I would have wondered the same thing if I were you." The girl's happy demeanor suddenly turned somber. "It's been a long time since I've seen you and I really want stay and chat but we don't have much time before you wake up from this dream state."

Tsuna didn't know why but he felt his back straighten up and something in the back of his mind to pay close attention to this strange girl.

"After your supposed death-

_Wait, death?!_

-things haven't been the same in Vongola. The peace that the Vongola have been striving for is no longer existent. The Millefiore are almost at the end of their conquest of the world. Luckily, Uncle Reborn and the other Arcobaleno who haven't been caught yet are still in hiding. However, if they get caught..." From where the girl had been looking at the dark abyss beneath her, she looked up to stare back into Tsuna.

"You may not get what I'm saying right now but the pieces will connect soon. Your memories are probably still scattered but they'll be back in about a week or so in the form of headaches." At this Tsuna dumbly nodded and only looked back with a bewildered expression. Honestly, what was going on?! Plus, did he just hear the word 'mafia' amongst that weird speech the girl gave?

"Anyways, I would like to fill in the details but I don't have much more time in here." The green haired girl pointedly looked down at her feet. Tsuna followed her gaze and gasped. Slowly, the girl's feet were disappearing, fading into black. Tsuna's own hands were also fading.

"Wha-" the brunet started, only to be interrupted.

"It just means that you're waking up soon, don't worry about it. More importantly, I just want you to remember this: there's an unknown force that's disrupting the Tri-Ni-Set and my visions are trying to tell me something but I just don't know what they all mean. It is also a high probability that they're the one responsible for your current situation. There's more I would like to say but maybe next time, Tsuna-san."

At this point their whole bodies was starting to fade.

"W-when will I be able to see you again?" Tsuna stuttered out. Everything was absurd- this whole situation was absurd! Tsuna wanted to just wake up and find out that this whole thing was a dream. The mafia, taking control of the world, an unknown enemy, and the missing voids in his memory... This had to be a dream but there was another part of him that almost seemed desperate; desperate for the girl in front of him to stay, to stand up and give her a hug, desperate to see them...

...see who?

Unknowingly, a pained expression flashed across Tsuna's face that the girl saw. As if she knew what he was thinking, the girl kneeled down and hugged him. Although they were both fading Tsuna could feel the warmth surrounding him.

"It's alright. It might take some time but we'll see each other again. Entering dreams takes a lot of energy after all so I'll have to regain it before I can see you again." The girl smiled.

"See you soon, Tsuna-san." One last smile and the girl was gone.

The last thing Tsuna realized before he completely faded was that he never got to ask the girl's name.

* * *

><p>Light brown eyes slowly blinked open. The owner of them blinked a few more times to get rid of the sleepiness still lingering. The man brought a hand up to rub against his eyes as he sat up on the bed he was lying on.<p>

Tsuna raised his arms, stretching them in a movement that was reminiscent of a cat. The sounds of bones cracking into place resounded throughout the room. Hands went down to his neck to slowly massage the cricks out of his neck. Brown eyes roamed around his surroundings. From what he could see, he was in a large room laying down on what he believed was a queen-sized bed. Looking to his right there was an opened door which he saw led to the bathroom. There was another door on the adjacent wall facing him. Tsuna could only assume that door led to the outside- wherever he was.

Tsuna adjusted his body so that his legs were dangling off the edge of the bed. The brunet made an attempt to stand up but realized that it was a bad idea once his knees started to wobble. He grabbed the conveniently placed drawer next to him to help hold him up. Oh gosh, he felt like an old man who just woke up from a very long coma. With a relieved sigh, Tsuna stood there until he made a hesitant step forward. Sure that he wasn't going to fall again, he made a few steps forward where the door leading outside was.

Cracking the door open for a peek, he realized that it was completely silent. Tsuna noticed that there was no one in sight so he opened the door wider. He silently made a note to himself that the occupants of this place were probably still sleeping, judging from the cracks of dawn filtering through the window, lighting up the dim hallway.

Walking through the hallway, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity wash over him. Even though it was his first time- at least to his knowledge- being here it was almost like he have been here before. He didn't know where he was going but he felt his legs automatically carrying him to a set of doors on the other side of the mansion.

The doors were much larger than the other ones adorning the hall. There was also a strange image of a shield with a bullet inside. Above the shield were two guns forming the shape of a 'X' with a winged clam. The design was split in half between the two doors and Tsuna almost felt intimidated. Almost.

Tsuna opened the set of doors smoothly to reveal what appeared to be an office. Straight ahead was a desk filled with piles of paper. The wall behind had two small windows covered by dark brown curtains. To the left was a huge shelf of books and folders. In the middle of the room there was a coffee tables with an ashtray in the middle with two couches to either side. The man walked to the desk filled with piles of paper.

It was strange how he felt so in place in here. Tsuna's eyes roamed over the papers on the desk. His eyes scanned over what seemed to be papers filled with transactions and contracts. In the corner of his eye he saw a glint to the right side of the desk. It turned out to be a picture frame. Within a frame showed a picture that looked quite new. The contents of the photograph made the brunet reveal a small smile.

In the middle was a young man around his own age. He had bright blonde hair longer than Tsuna's hair. The blonde man's locks hung over his eyes shining with a brilliant blue. His lips were upturned in a pleasant smile. Surrounding the blonde were a few other people. Tsuna raised an eyebrow at the strange hair colors.

He knew it was rude to barge into other people's rooms and look at their things without permission, especially a place he didn't know anything about, but he felt oddly content in here. It was almost like he belonged here and if he didn't know any better he would have thought this was his home.

Not that he even remembered where his home was. The brunet felt his thoughts straying off to the dream he had moments ago. Should he take the dream to heart or should he dismiss it as just another dream? But it was true there was a huge gap in his memories that he couldn't explain. Maybe he should take what the green haired girl in his dream seriously. He felt like he should be more freaked out at these turn of events but it was almost like there was something ingrained in his head to keep calm.

So absorbed into his thoughts, he didn't take heed of the strange prickling at the back of his head before he noticed it too late.

"Boo."

* * *

><p>Giotto was in the clouds. Literally.<p>

He was having another one of his pleasant dreams of quietness and peace complete with a tea set. He was calmly sipping his cup of tea among the clouds before another presence made itself known.

"Welcome, please sit down and join me." Giotto gestured to an empty seat with a hand.

The person made her way to the empty seat across from Giotto and sat down. She accepted the cup of tea Giotto had conjured up within his dream and sipped on it.

"You look as lovely as always, Sepira. Here to keep me company?" Giotto conversed with a small smile.

"Charming as ever, Giotto." Sepira giggled. She wore a huge hat along with white robes. On her face was the Giglio Nero tattoo on her right cheek that all heirs of the Giglio Nero bore. "As much as I would like to make casual talk, I'm here more for business."

"Thought so," Giotto responded with a sigh. He took another sip of his Earl Grey. "So, does it have to do with another one of your predictions?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm here to warn you to be careful. There's yet another trouble brewing in the near future and it has to do with the stray you picked up."

"Stray?" The only thing Giotto could think that Sepira was referring to was the mysterious brunet G brought in. "You mean the the man that looked like me in the coffin?" Giotto questioned, knowing full well the shaman knew what he was talking about.

"Yes, but don't worry about him. He's not the enemy. He's actually more alike to us more than he lets on, although he might be the source of the near-future disaster coming up. I may be wrong; I only know so much."

"Alike to us?" Giotto repeated confusedly. "What could that possibly mean?"

"Sorry, but you know the rules. I can't tell you more than what I've already told you."

Giotto gave a resigned look to the woman sitting in front of him before he placed the tea cup back onto the table. "Anyways, I appreciate it. You've always been a great help towards us and Vongola."

"No problem. I guess I'll see you next time." Standing up from her seat, Sepira proceeded to walk away. Before she disappeared from the dream, she looked back at Giotto with a mischievous smile. Giotto stared back with a raised eyebrow.

"By the way, you'll be waking up...right about now." Before Giotto registered her words, a loud scream echoed and flooded his body to the very core.

"HIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

Giotto sprang up from his bed with his ears ringing. Wide awake with alertness, he looked around his room only to find nothing out of the ordinary. Strange... Even though the scream occurred within his dream, it felt like it just happened not too far from him.

There's no way anyone could scream like that anyways. It sounded like some girl...or maybe a pre-pubescent teenager. Maybe it was his imagination.

"HIIIIIIIEEEEEE!"

Nope, definitely not his imagination.

With newly founded vigor, his body moved on his own accord. He grabbed his I-Gloves that he fought with and hurried down the hall. His Famiglia might be in danger! Maybe it was the maids screaming from an intruder. His feet led him to his own office. He spotted G standing with his crossbow just near the doorway and was about to ask what was wrong until he took a good long look inside the room.

On the floor just right in front of his desk his look-alike. His look-alike was laying with the front of his body on the floor. His hands were outstretched in the air holding the picture that him and his Guardians took a few months ago. Not only that but the figure of his Mist Guardian was looming over the brunet with a dangerous gleam in his indigo eyes.

"What happened here?" Giotto demanded while looking at his Mist Guardian, Daemon.

"Tch, the creep's back," G muttered under his breath. Giotto gave a light jab to G's side with an elbow as a warning for his language.

"Nufufufu. I just came back from my last mission and was going to place my report here but I found a wandering little bunny in my boss' office. Tell me, what are you doing here?" The last part was directed the man still lying on the floor.

On the floor, Tsuna could only shudder at the melon-headed man above him. Something about him just set him off and it was beginning to creep him out. However, there was something familiar about him...

"Well?" Daemon nudged.

Tsuna adjusted his position to stand up. He put the picture back to where he found it on the desk. He had managed to catch the falling picture after being scared shitless by the man who Giotto called Daemon. Thank god for his amazingly fast reflexes.

"I was just looking around," Tsuna replied. Daemon narrowed his eyes at the man before him. He definitely couldn't find any detection of a lie there. Looking back at Giotto, he got a nod from the blonde which confirmed his observation. However, it didn't lessen the suspicion he felt about the brunet.

"Sorry for looking without your permission. I was just curious as to where I am and I sorta ended up here." Tsuna gave out a weak laugh. He looked back into indigo eyes which reminded him of...

"_Kufufufu."_

Tsuna's head snapped around the room. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Giotto asked confused. Next to him, G crossed his arm with a bored expression.

Tsuna looked around the room once more. He looked at the man with a head that resembled a melon, thinking it was him who made that sound. Daemon only stared back blankly. Tsuna took his eyes off him and shook his head. It was probably his imagination.

"_I am the real Rokudo Mukuro," a teen sitting in the far end of the room confirmed._

Tsuna grimaced as he felt a headache forming at the base of his skull. He gripped the edge of the desk, showing his discomfort.

Still standing at the doorway, G and Giotto noticed the brunet's pain and walked towards him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" the first Vongola don asked worriedly.

Tsuna's headache got worse as images started occupying his head.

"_I'll destroy the Mafia and before I do that, I'll possess your body, Sawada Tsunayoshi."_

"_Oya,oya. You want me to join the Vongola?"_

"_Kufufufu. Take care of Nagi for me."_

"_B-Boss...thank you."_

Tsuna tried to breathe evenly while more memories continued to fill a part of his brain. Were those his memories? Did Daemon somehow trigger them? He noted the uncanny similarities in appearance between Daemon and the person in his memories. There was also a girl with an identical appearance. Maybe his sister?

"I-I'm fine." Tsuna gulped. "Just had a headache..."

"Some headache that was," G scoffed out. There was a few seconds of silence in which everyone stood still, not knowing where to go from the unexpected turn of events. The day outside was getting brighter and the birds were starting their early rounds of hunting for their grub.

A low rumble suddenly made it to the ears of the occupants of the room. Everyone looked towards the source of the sound.

"Err, anyone hungry for some breakfast?" Tsuna asked sheepishly.

"Oh, um, sure! C'mon, let's go to the dining room. G, go wake up Lampo," Giotto ordered.

"Why am I always stuck with this job? Just let the brat snore all he wants." Despite his complaint, the redhead sauntered off to complete his daily routine.

"Nufufufu, I'll see you twins downstairs." With that parting phrase, Daemon faded into nothingness.

Giotto felt a brow twitch. Honestly, why can't his Mist Guardian be less creepier? Suddenly, Giotto's expression morphed into one of panic. Did his look-alike just see Daemon disappear? He looked at the man across the room. What he didn't expect was the state of calm the man was. Hmm, maybe he just dismissed it as a magic trick or just didn't see what just happened? Oh well, he won't make things worse by questioning the brunet.

"After you." Giotto opened the door wider to let the brunet out. "I'll lead you to the dining room. Name's Giotto by the way."

"My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. You can just call me Tsuna. Nice to meet you, Giotto-san." Tsuna gave a grin of his own.

_Japanese, huh... His Italian is flawless though. I'll have to introduce him to Asari when he gets back tomorrow._

Just as Tsuna was out the door, something white on the floor caught Giotto's attention.

"Hold on just a minute, Tsuna." Giotto went back in the room to pick up a piece of paper on the floor where Tsuna was laying on the floor just a while ago. It was a small piece of paper that was a bit crinkled in the corners. It looked like it was from a notepad and was folded in half.

Giotto shrugged and placed the paper on his desk, thinking it might have been part of the piles of paperwork. He was quite a bit on the messy side after all.

With long strides, the Vongola don was out of his work office. "Sorry to keep you waiting. You must be hungry," Giotto apologized.

"No worries. It wasn't long. Please lead the way," Tsuna said with a gesture of his head.

The two males walked down the long hallway, both unaware of the troubles plaguing their minds.

Giotto thought back to the dream with Sepira. The Giglio Nero boss did say Tsuna wasn't his enemy but he couldn't help but feel like he should pay close attention to him. There was something about him which set his hyper intuition ringing alarm bells. His blue eyes glanced the man next to him. He seemed to be dazed. The blonde looked back straight ahead. He'll have to interview Tsuna of his origins and the reason why he was in a coffin later. He'll usually have Alaude do it but the man wouldn't be back for another week. Giotto sighed out of his nose. Where was the man when you needed him?

Meanwhile, Tsuna couldn't help but wonder who that man in his acquired memory was. From what he remembered, his name was Rokudo Mukuro. He mentioned a girl named Nagi who he assumed to be the girl who took in a similar appearance as this Rokudo Mukuro guy. They did have the same pineapple-styled hair. There was also another mention of the mafia and something called "Vongola." Seriously, what was everyone doing talking about clams?

Tsuna's heart clenched as a wave of longing and pain coursed through his veins. His thoughts couldn't help but be flooded with memories of a man and woman who he yearned to see and yet were strangers at the same time.

* * *

><p>Not much progress, unfortunately. Hopefully, you guys caught the hints I sprinkled throughout that will be important in future chapters. Don't know when next update is so I can't guarantee anything. It was actually the recent review that gave me the muse to work on this chapter. That review made me look through the list of reviews I had and reading them again gave me such fluttery feelings that I completed the chapter. Thank you for the reviews!<p> 


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